Currently there are different types of dispenser caps that are coupled to containers of hygiene products, such as hair care products, beauty products, lotions, skin creams, health care products, etc., which are well known and have gained wide acceptance on market. Such dispenser caps should function in a satisfactory manner over the lifespan of the dispensed product and it must also be highly functional in avoiding leakage during transportation of the product. Mainly, a dispenser cap should be comfortably manipulated between an open-closed state, without excess product accumulating on the exposed surfaces, and above all it is important that it is aesthetically pleasing to the consumer. When it comes to products for children or babies in particular, dosing caps should be attractive and safe for children or babies.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,218,308 patent discloses a bottle cap, particularly the one for protecting an open container and preserving the contents until use, and its main purpose is to provide a single unit cap. The cap has an orifice that opens and closes automatically in response to external pressure applied to the cap, said cap having self-sealing apertures; as well as a pair of elements that serve as grips for the fingers, which facilitate opening of the cap. The cap is sealed and couples to the neck of a bottle, the cap is preferably composed of resilient material such as rubber and is molded to spheroidal shape to provide a dome-shaped surface and an integral annular flange surrounding an opening.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,726,796 patent discloses a cap for a collapsible tube such as a toothpaste or shaving cream tube. In particular, the cap comprises a shank provided with internal threads at its lower end, adapted to be screwed onto a conventional collapsible tube, an upper casing relative to a lower casing, wherein the lower casing is attached to the stem by means of a plurality of braces which rigidly support the lower casing at each of the upper ends of said braces, while the braces are supported at their lower end by the shank. The lower casing is pivotably attached to the upper casing through a hinge, wherein the hemispherical upper casing comprises a recess in the center of its surface, which is arranged to engage the upper edge of the shank.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,779,519 discloses a closing device comprising a cap mounted on a carrier, a spherical ball; wherein said carrier and cap form a spherical housing extending partly in the holder and partly in the cap, for housing said ball, the ball has a duct extending diametrically therethrough, the cap has an opening adapted to be connected by the duct in the ball, a trunnion that extends axially of the ball in a direction perpendicular to the duct and said trunnion engages a recess in the cap, which is adapted to move in a diametrical plane of the housing perpendicular to the axis of the opening in the carrier and the opening of the cap. The ball has a slot extending therein along an equatorial circle lying in a plane containing said trunnion and the recess in the cap, the plane of said circle forming an angle of 45° with the duct, wherein the slot extends through an arc of one fourth of the circumference of the ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,246 patent discloses a cap for a collapsible tube, wherein the cap includes a hemispherical base member, which in one embodiment comprises a substantially cylindrical neck portion which is attached at its end to the portion of the reinforcement member proximal to the opening of the collapsible tube. The cylindrical neck portion defines an elongated bore, which opens at its end on end surface of the neck portion and which is arranged in fluid communication with the opening in the reinforcement member for purposes of receiving the contents of the tube as the tube wall is collapsed by compression forces. The opposite end of the bore opens into the top surface of the neck portion. The base member includes a substantially spherical portion that mounts to the neck portion and defines a substantially spherical surface, wherein the spherical portion defines a bore which includes a first end that communicates with end of the bore of the neck portion and an opposite end which opens on the surface of the spherical portion at a predetermined location and serves as an outlet through which the contents of the tube are discharged.
EP 357,981 A1 patent application relates to a dispenser closure and cap, either for liquid or powdered materials, comprising a closure portion to be connected to a container lip, and a plug, wherein the closure portion has the shape on the free end thereof, as a spherical segment provided with one or more dispensing orifices and the plug is constructed as an oscillating sector plug which matches the outer surface of the spherical segment and can be displaced angularly on the surface of the a spherical segment about a central axis of said segment from a position in which it closes all the dispensing orifices to a plurality of open positions in each of which only one or more dispensing orifices are open and all the remaining dispensing orifices (2′, 2) are closed.
EP 925,230 B1 refers to a plug comprising a cylindrical portion for engaging the neck of a container; having a slot that extends peripherally on at least one portion of the circumference of the cylindrical portion. Two channels, separated from one another, extend in the cylindrical part of the plug and open in the slot through orifices separated from each other in the peripheral direction of the slot. A diaphragm made of elastomeric material, which closely matches the shape of the cylindrical portion and of the surface slot covers the orifices of the two channels, wherein the diaphragm forms a shut-off valve which by its elastic deformation allows a substance contained in the container to flow from the inside to the outside of the container.
Nevertheless, none of the cap dispensers known in the state of the art comprise each and every one of the technical features of the dosing cap of the present invention, which has more advantages over what is known in the prior art. The structural design and the materials used to make the dosing cap of the present invention make it simple to manufacture and assemble because the cap structure is manufactured in two hemispherical pieces molded in polypropylene or another similar material. Such plastic can be produced in a wide variety of flashy colors, aesthetically pleasing to the consumer, and can be recycled. Other operational advantages attributable to the structural technical characteristics will be readily apparent to the skilled person from the accompanying drawings and the subsequent specification.
The present invention provides a spheroidal dosing cap for containers of hygiene and health products, which has the additional baby's rattle purpose; which is appealing to children or babies.